This invention relates to a unit dose dispensing collapsible tube adapted to dispense a viscous liquid therefrom and, more particlarly, to a unit dose dispenser for dispensing a viscous liquid from such a collapsible tube.
Collapsible tubes are commonly used to hold viscous liquids, such as lotions, creams and medicants. One type of such tube has a dispenser mounted on the tube. The dispenser can include a cap member on the tube and a closure element connected to the cap member. The cap member can have an opening therein to provide a path of flow for the viscous liquid in the tube from the tube to the dispenser. The closure element is capable of movement between the closed position and an open position in which a passageway through the closure element is in fluid flow communication with the opening in the cap member so that the viscous liquid flows from the tube to the cap member and through the passageway in the closure element to the user. Thus, a viscous liquid is dispensed from such a tube by squeezing the tube to force the liquid from the tube through the opening in the cap member and through the passageway in the closure element.
The user of such tubes sometimes must know just how much of the contents of the tube is being dispensed at a time, particularly if the viscous liquid is medicated. This is difficult unless the tube includes an additional reservoir that is of a size to hold a unit dose of the viscous liquid. Several such dispensers for viscous liquids in collapsible tubes are available. However, they are often unwieldy and complex, as they have one mechanism to control flow from the tube to the reservoir and a separate mechanism to control the dispensing of the viscous liquid from the reservoir to the user.
A further problem associated with collapsible tubes is that often excess viscous liquid dispensed from the tube is wasted because it cannot be placed back in the tube.
Thus, it is desired to develop a unit dose dispensing collapsible tube adapted to dispense a viscous liquid therefrom.